Liberal Democrat ministers would have to resign if a vote on House of Lords reform were defeated next week and they attempted to engage in tit-for-tat retaliation over boundaries, government whips have insisted. Coalition tempers frayed yesterday after Richard Reeves, who has only just left as

AWhat has being in government been like for Nick Clegg? The Lib Dem leader said that taking his party into power for the first time in its history was a bit like being “gradually lobotomised”. Speaking at a drinks event organised by Centreforum, a think-tank, Mr Clegg explained that the “sheer

My father fails the Tebbit test. When it comes to India v England in the cricket, Jagdish Asthana’s heart is rooted in the subcontinent. “But,” — he muses, as he considers how to answer my question, “do you feel British?” — “it always was a stupid test.” The fact that more than three decades

Ethnic minorities living in Britain identify more strongly with “Britishness” than do their white counterparts, the largest study on race carried out in this country reveals. Muslims are the most likely of the various groups to consider themselves British, say the Institute for Social and Economic

Aung San Suu Kyi attended Ed Miliband’s Shadow Cabinet meeting this week. The Burmese opposition leader asked for advice on party finances. That triggered a giggle or two. Then she wondered if members had experienced the same frustrating phenomenon that she had: MPs who thought it was their

Baroness Warsi, the Tory party co-chair, has been cleared of any serious breach of the ministerial code after she took a business partner on an official trip to Pakistan. Sir Alex Allan said he was satisfied that the peer had not used her office for financial gain at any time. His report

What are the biggest risks to the London Olympics? The most senior civil servant helping to organise the Games did not place terrorism, protests or traffic jams at the top of the list, but the inevitable British rain. As a result, organisers have asked the Met Office to produce detailed

Wealthier pensioners may lose benefits under welfare reforms floated by David Cameron as he begins to sketch the next Conservative manifesto. Single mothers, young people, illiterate or sick claimants would also have their benefits cut under changes raised yesterday by the Prime Minister. He

The scandal of elderly and disabled care in Britain is laid bare today by the revelation that more than 4,300 whistleblowers have come forward to the Care Quality Commission in only 16 months. More than 50 per cent of cases were judged to be so serious as to trigger an inspection. Figures obtained

Celebrities weighed into the tax debate today as No 10 rode to the defence of Gary Barlow after The Times revealed his part in an elaborate avoidance scheme. Lily Allen called tax avoiders “a hundred times worse” than a benefit cheat hours after the comedian Jimmy Carr was heckled by an audience